Galatians 6:6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Now the Apostle also addresses the hearers of the Word requesting them to bestow “all good things” upon those who have taught them the Gospel. I have often wondered why all the apostles reiterated this request with such embarrassing frequency. In the papacy I saw the people give generously for the erection and maintenance of luxurious church buildings and for the sustenance of men appointed to the idolatrous service of Rome. I saw bishops and priests grow rich until they possessed the choicest real estate. I thought then that Paul’s admonitions were overdone. I thought he should have requested the people to curtail their contributions. I saw how the generosity of the people of the Church was encouraging covetousness on the part of the clergy. I know better now.

As often as I read the admonitions of the Apostle to the effect that the churches should support their pastors and raise funds for the relief of impoverished Christians I am half ashamed to think that the great Apostle Paul had to touch upon this subject so frequently. In writing to the Corinthians he needed two chapters to impress this matter upon them. I would not want to discredit Wittenberg as Paul discredited the Corinthians by urging them at such length to contribute to the relief of the poor. It seems to be a by-product of the Gospel that nobody wants to contribute to the maintenance of the Gospel ministry. When the doctrine of the devil is preached people are prodigal in their willing support of those who deceive them.

We have come to understand why it is so necessary to repeat the admonition of this verse. When Satan cannot suppress the preaching of the Gospel by force he tries to accomplish his purpose by striking the ministers of the Gospel with poverty. He curtails their income to such an extent that they are forced out of the ministry because they cannot live by the Gospel. Without ministers to proclaim the Word of God the people go wild like savage beasts.

Paul’s admonition that the hearers of the Gospel share all good things with their pastors and teachers is certainly in order. To the Corinthians he wrote: “If we have sown unto you spiritual things is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?” (1Cr 9:11) In the old days when the Pope reigned supreme everybody paid plenty for masses. The begging friars brought in their share. Commercial priests counted the daily offerings. From these extortions our countrymen are now delivered by the Gospel. You would think they would be grateful for their emancipation and give generously for the support of the ministry of the Gospel and the relief of impoverished Christians. Instead, they rob Christ. When the members of a Christian congregation permit their pastor to struggle along in penury, they are worse than heathen.

Before very long they are going to suffer for their ingratitude. They will lose their temporal and spiritual possessions. This sin merits the severest punishment. The reason why the churches of Galatia, Corinth, and other places were troubled by false apostles was this, that they had so little regard for their faithful ministers. You cannot refuse to give God a penny who gives you all good things, even life eternal, and turn around and give the devil, the giver of all evil and death eternal, pieces of gold, and not be punished for it.

The words “in all good things: are not to be understood to mean that people are to give all they have to their ministers, but that they should support them liberally and give them enough to live well.

When God says He is going to do something, you can be confident that it is going to happen! With this confidence, we are able to shout the shout that leaves no doubt.
It doesn’t matter what obstacles or problems you are facing. You can shout with no doubt about what God is going to do for you as His child.

In Psalm 27:5,6, we read:
“For in the day of trouble, He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD” (NASB).

You may be saying, “Preacher, I don’t feel like shouting.” Shout anyway. We are a kingdom of priests. We are priests unto God, and we are called to offer sacrifice to Him.

When you go into a church and hear all the people shouting, that’s a sacrifice. This is one way in which the world outside of the church can know that something is taking place on the inside. We have something to shout about!

David said in Psalm 5:11:
“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Even though you are saved and washed in the blood, you may be going through a trial or a test in your life. Don’t let the devil steal your joy. You may not be able to rub two nickels together, but the devil can’t touch what you’ve got under that fifth rib. You are a child of God.

You know what my Bible says in Psalm 34:19?
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Not the backslider, but the righteous. And the phrase that makes me want to shout is, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all!”

It doesn’t matter what you may be going through. God has called you to be more than a conqueror. He has promised to bring you out of every bad situation that you may find yourself in. That should make you want to shout unto God with the voice of triumph!

If God Said It, It’s Already Done

In Ezra 3:11, we read:
“And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.”

The people had just returned from years of captivity in Babylon. All hope seemed to be gone. The great temple of the Lord that Solomon had built had been destroyed. The great empire had been reduced to a minuscule remnant.

But here they were, back in the land that God had given to their fathers. The foundation for the new temple had just been laid. God was beginning the restoration that He had promised through His prophets. Many years had gone by, but God was right on time.

They began shouting the shout that leaves no doubt. They still had a long way to go. The temple would not be completed for several more years, and they were still a small remnant of the once vast empire, but God promised them in Haggai 2:9:
“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give thee peace, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Confidence filled their lungs as they witnessed the Word of God being confirmed before their eyes. God said He was going to do it, and He did!

Three On-Fire Jews

I love the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego recorded in the third chapter of the book of Daniel. They refused to bow down and engage in idol worship. While many people are bowing down to false gods today, God is looking for somebody who will not bow their knee to Baal, but who will serve Him in the beauty of holiness.

Old King Nebuchadnezzer got word that these three young men weren’t bowing down to worship the image that he had built. Somebody got jealous.

Even though they were in captivity, they had found favor with Nebuchadnezzer, who elevated them to important positions in his government. When God starts blessing you, some of your best friends are going to get jealous.

Nebuchadnezzer was overcome with rage, and he said to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “You’ll either bow down to my god, or you’ll burn.”

Those boys said, “You’ve got it all wrong, King. If we bow down to your god, we will burn. We’ll burn in Hell! If we have to choose the furnace, we choose yours. Either God will deliver us from your fiery furnace, or He won’t.”

This is what you call covering all the bases. Either God’s going to do it, or He’s not going to do it!
As soon as they spoke those words, God said to Jesus, “Get down there and get in that fire.”
Nebuchadnezzer’s rage intensified, and he said to his servants, “Heat the furnace seven times hotter. Tie them up and throw them in.”

The men who threw them into the flames could not stand the intensity of the heat, but not a hair on those boys’ heads was singed. They still had their clothing on. The only things missing were the bonds that tied them.

Nebuchadnezzer looked into the furnace and counted four people. He went back to his men and said, “How many did we throw into that fire?”

They told him, “Three.”

He said, “I see four, and the fourth one is like unto the Son of God.”
Now think about this: three people were thrown into the fire, and three came out. What happened to the fourth one?

I’m here to tell you, He’s still in the fire. Why? Because when you get into the fire, He’s already there to see that you get deliverance. No matter what your predicament may be, God has a way out for you.

You Don’t Have Any Trouble

If you have ever heard my radio program, you’ve heard me say, “You don’t have any trouble. All you need is faith in God.” Now, that’s a borrowed statement; that’s not original with me.

I was preaching in Buffalo, NewYork. There was a gentleman who came into that meeting and said, “Brother Schambach, I’d like to invite you and your entire staff home for dinner.”

I said, “We’ll be there.”

At that time, I didn’t like to eat before preaching, so it was very late after the service was over before we were able to leave for his house. He didn’t tell me earlier that he lived in Niagara Falls, so we had to travel quite a distance.

But it was well worth the time. The man’s wife had prepared a feast: a banquet that made Belshazzar’s feast look like a Girl Scout picnic. She had prime rib of beef, turkey, T-bone steaks, and fried chicken. You never invite a preacher out unless you have fried chicken. And when people invite us out to eat, I fast all day so I can tuck it away.
I filled up my plate to gospel measure. That’s the running over variety. I was so hungry that when the gentleman asked me to pray, I prayed quickly, “Lord, bless this food. Amen,” and I started digging into that food.

I was helping myself and enjoying the food when all of a sudden this man had one of those talking spells. But what he was saying was better than the food, and I pushed my plate back because I wanted to hear every word.

He said, “Brother Schambach, I thought I had it made with a great job with the U.S. Government, money in the bank, and my home almost paid for. I had never been sick a day in my life, when suddenly, I was hit with spinal meningitis that paralyzed me from head to toe.”

Now, while he was speaking, I was looking at a man who was completely well in his body, and I knew that something miraculous had happened to him. I listened intently as he continued on.

He said, “I was hospitalized for three months, and then, to make matters worse, I was stricken with very painful rheumatoid arthritis which crept into all of my joints.
“I lapsed into a coma, my bank account was reduced to zero, and I had to sell my home to get equity out of it to pay the additional doctor and hospital bills.

“They called my priest in to give me the last rites of the church, extreme unction; and even though I was in a coma, I knew my priest was giving me the last rites.”

I’ve asked several doctors about this, and they’ve told me that, even though a person is in a coma, they can still hear you, but you cannot communicate with them.

He went on, “I wanted to let the priest know that I understood that he was giving me the last rites of the church, but I couldn’t even flicker an eyelash. He finished with the rite of extreme unction, and he walked out the door.

“As soon as he closed the door, another priest came walking in right through the wall. The other priest was dressed in all black, but this priest was dressed in all white.

This priest leaned down over my bed, put his mouth to my ear, called my by my name, and he said to me, ‘YOU DON’T HAVE ANY TROUBLE. ALL YOU NEED IS FAITH IN GOD.’
“My first reaction was, ‘what kind of crazy priest is this? I don’t have any trouble? Spinal meningitis, rheumatoid arthritis, lost my home, lost my job, and the priest just walked out of the room giving me the last rites. If this isn’t trouble, what is?’

“The next words that came out of this priest’s mouth were, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, and I am going to heal you right now.’

“He spoke to me further saying, ‘When I turn around and walk out of here, I want you to get out of this bed. Go wash yourself and shave. Walk out of this hospital. Go to the first bookstore you can find and buy a Bible. Begin reading the Gospel of St. John, and you will find the way to eternal life.’”

I was so blessed listening to him relate this story that I couldn’t continue eating.
He looked at me and said, “Brother Schambach, He walked right through the wall. Why didn’t he use the door?”

I said, “He is the door, Mister.” Jesus said in John 10:9:
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

He’ll make an entrance right into your life. He’ll come into your automobile. He’ll come to you on the job. He comes with the answer to your problems.

Jesus is still alive. He is still performing miracles. All He’s looking for is obedience and a little bit of faith. Trust Him, and you will shout the shout that leaves no doubt!

We’ve seen the shout without the clout; the shout that brings the rout; the shout that leaves no doubt, and now we come to the shout that brought us out.

Brought us out of what? Praise God, Jesus brought us out of sin. We’ve got something to shout about!
In John 19:28-30, we read:
“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon a hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Jesus was on Calvary, stretched out between heaven and earth with nails in His hands and in his feet. He was given vinegar to drink, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 69:21.

After this final indignity, Jesus shouted with a voice of triumph, “It is finished!” What was finished? Well, several things, actually.

The most difficult part of the work of mankind’s redemption and salvation had been completed, satisfying the justice of God and destroying the power of Satan forever.

Also, the ceremonial law had run its course, and man was no longer bound by a long list of ordinances. From this time forward, God would write His laws upon the hearts of the redeemed. All of the shadows have been eliminated by the illuminating revelation of Christ. It’s as if God were saying, “Put out the fires and stop killing the animals! It is no longer necessary!”

The Old Testament prophecies and types pointing at the Messiah and His suffering were also finished. Jesus knew that drinking the vinegar was the last prophecy that had to be fulfilled. He wasn’t complaining when He said, “I thirst.” He was crossing the last “T” of prophecy that would usher in a new era in God’s relationship with mankind.

Finally, the sufferings that Jesus had to endure, in soul and body, were now finished. All of the pain, agony, and indignities that He had gone through during His ministry had come to an end. He had accomplished what He had come to do, and now He was going to return to His Father.

Having fulfilled His destiny as the Lamb slain for the sins of the world, now He would take His place on the right side of the throne of God and intercede for mankind as the High Priest.

The Last High Priest

Let’s examine this title a little more. Do you remember when John baptized Jesus? John baptized unto repentance, but Jesus had nothing to repent of. Then why did He get baptized in water? You need to go back and read the first chapter of Luke. The father of John the Baptist was Zacharias, who was one of the priests who ministered in the temple. The priesthood was handed down through blood relationship, and he was from the family of Abiah, a son of Eleazar, who was the eldest son of Aaron.

The mother of John, Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. The blood that flowed through their veins was priestly blood, and Jesus recognized John as the true high priest.
You may be thinking, “But I thought Caiaphas was the high priest.” Caiaphas was a political appointee chosen around A.D. 18 by the Roman procurator, Valerius Gratus. The government of Rome chose him because of his ability to compel the people to abide by the laws the Romans had imposed on them.

But Jesus knew that John was performing the true duties of the high priest, admonishing the people to turn from their sins and baptizing them unto repentance. He knew that the right of baptism signified change and the passing from the old to the new. He had no need to be baptized unto repentance, but He was showing that the role of the high priest had been passed to Him. Although He would not assume that role until after His death and resurrection, this baptism by John was the ceremonial transfer of priestly succession.
John objected to baptizing Jesus because he knew that He was the spotless Lamb of God. Indeed, he told Jesus that he needed to be baptized by Him.

Jesus, knowing that He was fulfilling prophecy, told John, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

So John complied and baptized Jesus. And when He came up out of the water, the heavens burst open, and God the Father spoke and said, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.”

Do you remember what John said about Jesus when He was coming down the road? “Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Nobody had ever said that before. Lambs were slain for Israelis only, but here is John the Baptist, recognized by Jesus as the real high priest, saying, “Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.”

Not a lamb for a man; not a lamb for a house; not a lamb for a nation, but a lamb for the world. It’s important to realize that Jesus is not an American God; He’s not an Asian God; He’s not an African God; He’s not a European God, but He is the God of the whole world.

Jesus was crucified on the cross at Calvary on Passover. During this feast, the high priest would sacrifice a lamb without spot or blemish for the sins of the nation of Israel.
But now Jesus had become the sacrifice! Not only was He the spotless Lamb, He was the High Priest who would present the sacrifice before God.

And His sacrifice as the sinless Lamb of God was not just for the nation of Israel but for the whole world.

When He cried out, “It is finished!” the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom. Long and thick, it was made out of pure linen, and it was rent from top to bottom. Do you know why?

Only the high priest could come near the presence of God. The veil represented man’s separation from God, but through His death and resurrection, Jesus tore down that wall of separation. Now we are part of a kingdom of priests, and we can come boldly into His presence.

Our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God, and He said, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23 NASB).

We are priests of the most high God. We offer sacrifices of praise. When we shout unto God with the voice of triumph, we’re fulfilling our priestly duties. We can shout the shout that brought us out because Jesus brought us out of sin and into righteousness.

The Shout That’s Going To Take Us Out

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first..” (I Thessalonians 4:16).

Finally, I’m waiting for the shout that’s going to take us out. Out of what? Out of NewYork, Los Angeles, London, Nairobi, Calcutta, Tokyo, and every other place on this planet!
I don’t think it’s going to be much longer because there are signs all around us that we are living in the last days.

Powerful earthquakes and other natural disasters are becoming more frequent. More and more nations are becoming armed to the teeth with the most lethal military weapons ever developed. Tensions are high in many areas of the globe with the potential for numerous wars and internecine skirmishes.

Unprecedented advances in computers and other sophisticated technology are laying the groundwork for an eventual one-world economic and political system.

All of the things that Jesus and the prophets told us to look for in the last days are being revealed on a daily basis. Jesus is about to come!

I’m Getting Caught Up

I don’t know about you, but I believe in the rapture of the church. I know there are some preachers who don’t believe in the rapture. They tell me the word “rapture” is not in the Bible. I tell them right back that the phrase “caught up” is.

Here’s what it says in the book of First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 through 18:
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

I’m not looking for Him anymore. I’m listening for Him. I’m listening for the shout and the sound of a trumpet.

He’s coming back with a shout, and if you’re not ready, you’re going to be left behind to face seven years of tribulation. The Holy Ghost is going to be taken out of this world. If you can’t stay saved now, I know you won’t be able to stay saved then.

A friend of mine was praying, and he said, “Lord, how are you going to pull this rapture off?” God told him, “That’s easy, son. I’m just going to call the Holy Ghost home, and everybody He’s in is going to come with Him.”

Are you ready? Are your sins gone? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book if Life? God said in Luke 10:20:
“..rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

We shall not all sleep. If you want to sleep, sleep. But I’m waiting for that final shout. The shout that’s going to take us out of Harlem. The shout that’s going to take us out of NewYork. The shout that’s going to take us out of London, Jerusalem, Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Sydney, Calcutta, and Tokyo.

The Bible says in Mark 13:32:
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”

Well, I’m going to make an announcement. I know the day, and I know the hour that He’s coming! It’s going to be the day of the Lord, and He’s coming back in the hour that you think not.

I want to go on radio and television, and I want to shout it from the highest mountain, “Jesus is coming!”

We’re so close. Jesus is about to come, and He’s coming back for a bride that is holy, without spot or wrinkle. He’s not going to marry up with a bride that’s flirting with the devil. He’s going to marry up with a chaste virgin. Those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

You might tell me, “I shook the preacher’s hand and had my name put on the church book.” You might as well have put your name on a barn door and shook a donkey’s tail. It’ll get you into heaven just as quick.

He said, “He that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out.” It’s either Heaven or Hell. It’s either Christ or the devil. You’re either saved, or you’re lost. You can’t put this decision off.

How To Get Ready

If you want to be ready for the soon coming of Jesus Christ, get on your knees right now. Ask God to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Ask Him to give you a clean heart and to make you a new creation. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and to fill you with the Holy Ghost so that you may live the life He wants you to live.

Start reading the Word of God daily, beginning with the book of John. Talk to God often, confessing your sins and asking for His help and guidance in your life. Make it an everyday part of your life so that you will grow strong in the Spirit.

Find a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing church, get baptized, and get involved with other Christians as God leads you into the work He has called you to do.

Then your spiritual ears will be opened, and some day soon you will hear the trumpet of God sounding and the shout that is going to take us out!

The story begins with Adam and Eve, who listened to the voice of the devil instead of God. They disobeyed, and mankind’s perfect relationship with God was broken.

They became the first to experience sin and the death sin causes. They tried to hide themselves with tree leaves to cover their shame, but God was not pleased with these coverings. He covered them instead with animal skin garments. God Himself made the first animal sacrifice to cover their shame.

Adam and Eve had two children: Cain and Abel. Cain made an offering to God from the food he had grown while Abel offered an animal sacrifice—a blood sacrifice.

God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s. Why? Because sin demands death, separates us from God, and must be paid for . . . with life. In Cain’s jealousy, he killed Abel and led a large portion of humanity down a dark path.

Hundreds of years later, things had gotten so bad that God said there was no one on earth that deserved to live . . . no one except Noah and his family. God called Noah to build a boat—a big one—and in doing so preach this message: Judgment for sin is coming, and there is only one way to escape and receive the mercy of God—the ark.

They laughed and ridiculed Noah until rain came from the sky and the water burst up from the deep while the people were unprepared. The flood killed every person and animal, and the world perished for their sins. Only Noah, his family, and the animals God had brought to the ark were saved.

Then came Abraham, the Father of Faith. God told him to take his son and sacrifice him on a mountain. Abraham was disturbed by this command, but he obeyed God. He proved his faith with action and took his son to Mount Moriah. But just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, God stopped him and provided an animal to take his son’s place. The animal redeemed, replaced, bought back his son—blood for blood, life for life.

Four hundred years passed and God sent Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, didn’t like this, so God punished him with ten plagues. For the final plague, God sent an Angel of Death to kill the firstborn son of every household. But there was a way out. The people were commanded to sacrifice a lamb and put its blood on the doorpost of the house. If the Angel of Death saw the blood, he knew the children inside had been redeemed by sacrifice. Whether Jew or Egyptian, slave or freeman, if they obeyed the command of God, their child would be saved. If not . . . their child would not be saved. That night it happened just as Moses prophesied and a great weeping went up all over Egypt in any household that had refused God’s mercy by sacrifice.

Later, Moses gave the people the Torah in which God prescribed a ritual for covering the sins of the people. The offender brought an animal sacrifice to the priest, laid his hands on its head symbolizing the way his own sin and shame was transferred to the animal. Then the animal was sacrificed—its blood spilled out—and the offender’s sin was covered. King David and the prophets followed the Torah given by Moses, but they wondered, “Can the blood of animals really cover the sins of a man, or are they signs and symbols pointing to the future?”

David prophesied a Coming One, a King, a Messiah, a descendant of King David who would rule and reign in power, yet be a humble man with a heart of compassion. This Messiah would be sinless, perfect, blameless, innocent. He would suffer and die and be a worthy sacrifice. He would become “the Great Sacrifice.” Jesus was born in a barn because nobody had room for him. Born of a virgin, born pure. A royal, but poor, descendent of King David. Poor country shepherds and wealthy wise men from the East came to honor the child and testify that He was indeed the Coming One, the Messiah, whom the Scriptures had promised.

Jesus preached love, truth, peace, humility. He was a humble carpenter, but brilliant philosopher. He offended religious hypocrites who cared about rituals more than loving God, but He was loved by the poor, the humble, the repentant, the sinner. He healed the deaf, blind, deformed, and demon possessed. He even raised dead men back to life again. A homeless man, a wandering teacher, a revolutionary calling Lovers of God to live full lives. Jesus even called God His “Father,” and showed mankind that “the All Powerful” loves you like a Daddy.

God wanted to relate to humans as His children, but there was a problem. They were still sinful and God is Holy! Man’s sin, starting with Adam, had separated the people from their God, and the Messiah knew what He had to do to bring them back.

John the Baptist prophesied of Jesus saying, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus was the Messiah, the Chosen One—chosen to become the Great Sacrifice. Having never sinned, He was holy, pure, perfect, and worthy to pay the price for sin. The innocent one in exchange for the guilty. The Holy One in exchange for sinful people. He did this for His Father to pay the price for mankind’s sin, to free them from their slavery to sin, and to restore to them what Adam had lost—a perfect relationship with God. Jesus died on the cross, not because of the Jews, nor the Romans, but by the hand of God, his Father. God sacrificed Jesus to fulfill what was written by the prophets—that He would become the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, yours and mine. But He didn’t stop there. Three days later God raised Jesus, the Messiah, from the dead as a promise to those who believe in Him, that they too will rise again to eternal life. After this, Jesus promised his disciples that He would return again, but this time as Judge and King!

The Messiah is God’s gift to mankind so they would not die in their sins and be separated from God. By receiving Jesus’ sacrifice they could be restored back into a perfect relationship with Him. But like any gift, it’s not yours until you take it.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the quality of the preaching in the pulpits within the Church currently, and I am growing increasingly concerned about the Church moving further and further away from the unique strengths of Gospel preaching as we have received it from generations previous to ours. I’m going to frame my concerns by referring to temptations preachers face. I’m coming at this, of course, from my perspective and convictions as a Spirit-filled, confessing, orthodox Christian, committed to the Sacred Scriptures, having vowed to preach and teach the Word of God in conformity to the Word of God. This is no mere finger pointing exercise, this is a chance for me to reflect on how these temptations impact me when I preach.

The Therapeutic Temptation
The “Therapeutic Temptation” is one that would have preachers use their sermons to give what amounts to little more than a pep talk, often in the context of cute, touching, emotional or an otherwise manipulative story, either real, or made up. I’m referring to the infamous, “There was once a little boy who…” or the, “There was a man who said/did…” These sermons will be marked by a preaching of Law that is soft and squidgy around the edges, it’s not a preaching of God’s holy, righteous wrath against sin and a warning against it and a rebuking of sin and sinners. It is Law preached in such a way that bad things, bad people or bad situations are lamented in doleful tones. It sounds often like this, “Isn’t it sad when….” or “Have you ever…..” and the tone is one of sounding “oh, so sorry about that” and “shouldn’t we all feel bad” about this problem. Then the sermon goes on to offer encouragement and support for getting out of our bad and negative feelings and circumstances. The Law is soft, the Gospel therefore comes across as antidote to feeling sad and bad. I face this temptation when I preach. I want so much to make people feel better, to feel good, to leave feeling positive. That can get in the way of good Law/Gospel preaching. I would say this is what I’m hearing more and more in pulpits. Law becomes simply lament. Gospel becomes simply encouragement and reassurance.

Let Me Entertain You Temptation
Public speaking, once one becomes fairly good at it, is a place where one’s personal ego can really get in the way of God’s Word. It is so tempting to get wrapped up in the moment and begin to feel a need to amuse, delight and entertain the listeners. Now, granted, the use of the classic art of rhetoric is important, but it is tempting for preachers to work very hard to elicit a laugh, a chuckle, to amuse, to entertain. They mistake audience reaction with effective preaching and they mistake emotionally manipulating the congregation with preaching God’s Word effectively. The problem with the entertainment temptation is that often the effort to entertain and elicit a positive emotional reaction from the congregation causes the preacher to neglect the doctrine in the text he is preaching on, to neglect, frankly, the Scriptures, and to spend an inordinate amount of time developing his story that he just knows will get the kind of response he is looking for. Public speaking is heady stuff. I have been tempted to go for the cheap line, the little quip, the comment I know will get chuckle and spend too much time on that, than on preaching God’s Word. And here again, in this context, Law is neglected, or ignored, because, after all, the Law is not “upbeat” it is not “entertaining.” It will not delight and amuse people to hear that they, by nature, are poor, miserable sinners who have nothing but wicked, evil deeds to offer to the holy and righteous God. And when the Law is neglected, the Gospel then loses the force of its power to convert and regeneration. In such a context, the Gospel is watered down to be part of an entertaining experience for the listeners.

The Hurry Up Temptation
This is quite an insidious temptation that I think we all have fallen into, nearly totally. For many centuries, and even millennia, in the church’s history, sermons, where they were taken seriously, were thirty, forty or even sixty minutes long. The sermon was the opportunity for the pastor to preach and teach God’s Word carefully and thoroughly, from Sunday to Sunday, but then, sermons that were forty-five minutes long, became only thirty minutes, then they dropped to twenty minutes, and now it is often the case that sermons now are only twelve, or ten or even eight minutes long. Simply put, these are no longer sermons, they have become rather formulaic quick devotional thoughts. There is not enough time carefully to delve into the text, and open it up to hearers. A text become more a pretext for the sharing of what becomes quite repetitive themes: some talk of something bad, some talk of Jesus taking care of it all for us, and then there may be a reference to the Sacraments. Preachers are tempted to do this when they know that there is a full service with Holy Communion. It is tempting to skip lightly over the text and instead use the short time I have to make a couple devotional points and then get on to the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. I love the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and love that we celebrate it every corporate gathering on Sundays. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper must never become an excuse to make our sermons shorter and less substantial. We are the Church, the Body of Christ, and the fellowship of Word and Sacrament. I think that we are forgetting this.

The Axe to Grind Temptation
This temptation is characterized by a preacher managing to “find” in any Biblical text, a pretext for him to yet, once more, grind his axe on his hobby-horse issue, or subject, or theme, no matter what it might be. The hobby-horse might be quite correct and what the preacher says about it is quite true, but it is a temptation preachers face to turn nearly every sermon they give into an opportunity once more to repeat the same issues, over and over again. Perhaps he will be wanting to talk always about the liturgical practices in the parish, to turn every sermon into a little discourse on some point of church history, or to keep referring to some particular event or trend in society. Every sermon manages to include a reference to the issue that is really “bugging” the preacher and it comes out in his sermon. I am tempted to do this when I find myself wanting to warn people against the “feel good/health and wealth” prosperity preachers. I find that I can easily find myself bashing this error in every sermon. And while I’m perfectly correct in my warning, it is not appropriate for me to hijack every sermon on every Biblical text, to interject my own particular agenda. The Lectionary is a good corrective, and if the preacher resolves actually to preach on the subjects, issues and topics that flow naturally from the Lectionary readings, there is much less of a chance that the preacher will fall victim to the “Axe to Grind” temptation.

A passion is a spiritual disease that dominates the soul. When one repeatedly falls into a certain sin, it becomes second nature – a passion – for him to keep falling into this sin. Thus, one who misuses the God-given powers of the soul of desire and anger, or one who continually succumbs to temptations of lust, hate, malice, or jealousy, or one who succumbs to pride and vainglory, acquires those passions. It is primarily through repentance, faith, obedience to God, submission to His will, and dying daily to self is one healed of the passions.

These, then, are the passions which have been found named in the Holy Scriptures. St. John Climakos states: “If you seek understanding in wicked men, you will not find it.” For all that the demons produce is disorderly.

In common with the godless and the unjust, the demons have but one purpose: to destroy the souls of those who accept their evil counsel.

Yet sometimes they actually help men to attain holiness. In such instances they are conquered by the patience and faith of those who put their trust in the Lord, and who through their good actions and resistance to evil thoughts counteract the demons and bring down curses upon them.

From A LIST OF THE PASSIONS, Saint Peter of Damaskos The Philokalia; The Complete Text compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. Volume Three, translated from the Greek and edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherard, Kallistos Ware, Faber and Faber, 1984